The Way of Least Resistance

Introduction Readers of my blog will be familiar with my previous discussion concerning what have become known as cluster “H” and cluster “M” goju-ryu kata (see my article The origins of goju-ryu kata: Part 1 ). Cluster “H” consists of Higaonna Kanryo sanchin, sanseiru, seisan and suparinpei. Cluster “M” consists of the remainder. Katas in both clusters follow a general design pattern as follows: A — an opening sequence B — the body of the kata, often capable of being broken up into smaller groupings, eg. B1, B2, B3 etc. C — a closing sequence. What differentiates the clusters in design terms is the portion I have labelled “B”: In cluster “H” this portion is largely asymmetrical (ie. right side biased). In cluster “M” this portion — and more specifically each sub-portion (eg. B1, B2, B3 etc.) is symmetrical (i.e. techniques — including turns — are performed more or less equally on both right and left sides). The particular asymmetry of sanseiru In no kata is the asymmetry of cluster ...

There are one or 2 moves in goju kata where I “reverse” the direction of stepping/movement while performing bunkai (applications). I’ve often wondered whether — (1) the kata were deliberately designed that way “as a code” (something I think is a bit overstated nowadays); or (2) the kata were deliberately designed that way for an application I haven’t seen; or (3) the kata were deliberately designed that way for training or symbolic purposes (eg. stepping forward on the last move in gekisai dai ichi — said to reflect the “boldness” of the kata), not for any particular bunkai; or (4) the kata have been wrongly passed down in respect of a particular move. Consider the following move from sanseru kata at about 7:38 in the following video of Higaonna Morio sensei. In most kaiha it is performed as a leg catch with a step back — see the following video at about 0:48: (note however that I would personally prefer a leg catch on the other side, but the move is the same in principle). Over the y...

[Note that this is a continuation of Part 1 of this article.] One of the chief differences that has been pointed out to me about the way I was taught to do sanseiru and most other dojo is that in the second shiko dachi a jodan uke / age uke is used instead of the sokumen awase uke . In this variation (as demonstrated by Teruo Chinen and perhaps the most common and regarded as the standard) the feet in the shiko are angled 90 degrees but the body is turned 45 degrees. The kata performer then effects a jodan/age uke (not an inside sokumen awase uke as I had always assumed - it looks like it could be one). The problem I have with this is set out below: The bunkai doesn't seem to me to have the feet at 90 degrees, and for good reason: the angle of your forearm would simply be insufficient to create a deflection. See this video for an example: You'll note at at about point 1.33 that the angle of the defender's feet is about 45 degrees and the body is then further turned so tha...